Illustration of the formation of a tornado. (1) A wind shear forms; surface winds roll air into a horizontal tube. (2) Updraft; Sun warmed air lifts a section of the vortex vertically. (3) A storm forms; one side of the vortex becomes stronger and forms i

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Illustration of the formation of a tornado. (1) A wind shear forms; surface winds roll air into a horizontal tube. (2) Updraft; Sun warmed air lifts a section of the vortex vertically. (3) A storm forms; one side of the vortex becomes stronger and forms into a thunderstorm, while the other side dies. (4) Supercell; A mesocyclone pulls more warm air up into the storm, allowing it to grow. The spin then intensifies and a rotating column of air will break through the wall cloud and hit the ground.

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Size: 5700px × 3044px
Photo credit: © Monica Schroeder / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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